A Winter's Tale
by The Green Lady
Summary: The Original Hufflepuff's 'The Twelve Fics Of Christmas Challenge'. Twelve ficlets, drabbles, etc. concerning different Harry Potter characters during the holiday season.
1. Dance

_**Dance**_

Thousands of perfect, crystalline shapes- each one so very different- fell around her in a sea of white.

Several people started sniggering as the crowd nearby stared at her, watching...

She was dimly aware that they were there but the comments they made or the strong, heavy feeling of embarrassment for her that lay in the cold, wintery air meant nothing to Luna. She was happy.

"Oy Loony! Are you trying to catch a Blibbering Humdinger like that?"

She stopped staring up into the sky and looked over at the gaggle of fifth year boys who were all but laughing as they watched her.

"The Blibbering Humdinger ," she informed them, "Is a creature who prefers warm climates. They do not like cold."

She looked into the grey sky again and smiled as she closed her eyes, the tiny snowflakes falling gently on her pale face and her long mane of blonde hair.

It was her favorite time of year, it always had been. Slowly and gracefully with her arms out at her sides she began to spin a gentle waltz.

From what seemed like far away, she could hear laughter from the other students, but she continued to dance, with her face raised to the sky, eyes closed as the snowflakes fell around her.

There was a crunching in the snow and she opened her eyes slightly to see a timid looking first year girl standing next to her, bundled from head to toe in some homemade winter clothes. She smiled nervously up at Luna as she started attempting a little dance of her own.

Luna gave her a warm smile in return, before she closed her eyes and continued to dance and spin- the snowflakes falling more heavily upon them both.

And then, just a few seconds later there was more crunching in the snow, and then some more, and even a little while later- more crunching still. When Luna finally opened her eyes again she saw lots of students nearby, all dancing with in the snow. A group of girls were laughing loudly as they spun unsteadily about, a few boys were attempting to shove snow down their friend's back, a couple nearby were in each other's arms lost in their own world as they danced slowly while gazing into each other's eyes, a few second years were trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues exchanging silly, gleeful expressions with each other when one of them actually succeeded.

And still Luna continued to dance her slow waltz in the snow, a smile on her face. There was joy and love in the winter air now-

A warm content glow seemed to settle in her heart as she danced with the snowflakes.


	2. Mirror

_**Mirror**_

"Come'on Bella! Open it!" said the young girl.

Bellatrix wrinkled her nose for a moment as she mentally debated it, and then a reluctant grin spread across her face. "Alright, fine."

Andromeda leaned over excitedly. "I saw it and knew I just had to get if for you."

"I helped her pick it out." Narcissa said proudly.

"Yes." Her older sister said in amusement, tucking a loose blonde strand behind Narcissa's ear. "You did."

Bellatrix carefully tore at the wrapping paper. "I thought we agreed that homemade presents were the plan for all of us this year?"

Andromeda shrugged. "It was just one little thing. We both knew that if we didn't get it for you, we'd regret it later."

"But now you've gone and made me feel guilty-"

"It's Christmas! You don't have to pay people back for an extra present at this time of year."

She frowned, still feeling a slight twinge of guilt. "Still…"

"Open it already!" Narcissa exclaimed poking the present on her sister's lap.

Narcissa's loud exclamation broke the tension between them all. "Alright!" laughed Bellatrix. She carefully tore back the last of the wrapping paper and felt her breath catch in her throat. "Oh." she said softly.

A beautiful silver mirror lay on her lap. The handle had delicate spirals on it and a classical Greek floral ornamentation which she had always been fond of. She closed a pale hand around the mirror's handle and lifted it to her face. As she did so, she saw her two sister's anxious and excited faces as they watched her.

Her heavily lidded eyes stared back at her from her pale reflection. After a moment of staring into those dark eyes she lowered the mirror and looked back at her sisters.

"It's perfect." she said. "I love it."

Large grins appeared on her younger sisters faces.

"Really?" Andromeda asked.

She nodded and Narcissa joyfully flung herself into her sisters arms. "She likes it!"

Andromeda scooted over closer to sit beside them both. "I'm so glad." She said, wearing a smile far too big for her face. "It's a Christmas present that you can always remember us by."

Bellatrix smiled as she put an arm around her sisters and hugged them tightly, the mirror on her lap….

But in the dark years that soon followed, she did forget and never once did she look back to remember.


	3. Surprise

_**Surprise**_

A box.

Not just any box. A brightly wrapped box- with an enormous gold bow on it.

Much as he hated to admit it, it was obvious…

Someone, some unbelievably insane person had sent him a gift. He suspected it was from that new cheeky pink-haired auror that had recently been recruited, an explosion hex or quite possibly both.

Cautiously he took out his wand and poked the side of the wrapped box. He hadn't had a present in years. Didn't trust them. People who knew him well enough gave him that common courtesy around this time of year at least. It was far too easy for enemies to do you in by sending you an innocently wrapped "present".

The owl that had delivered the box was still there hooting softly as he watched Mad-Eye circle the table, eyeing the present sitting in the middle of it as if it were a bomb. His magical eye spun around so that he could see what was inside-

A bright red Santa Claus hat was inside of it.

_The gall of that girl._

There was a sudden knocking at his door and he turned, momentarily distracted from his thoughts with a snarl. One more bloody chorus of 'Ding Dong Merrily on High' and he would gladly take his prison sentence in Azkaban.

Almost right on cue, the carolers on his doorstep began to sing the dreaded song.

He snatched up his wand and started to stride to the front door before he stopped short- no. he'd get in trouble for jinxing the hell out of the carolers even though his fingers were itching to do so. He glanced about the room and his scarred face twisted into a small smile as he spied something by the fireplace that would work fine for the purpose in mind.

After a few moments, and well into the second refrain of the Christmas carol- there was a click from inside the front door. The carolers arranged their faces into warm, overly large, sappy grins when suddenly the door flung open and a scarred, grizzled old man appeared- his arms full of coal and brandishing an old poker.

"Mummy look- he looks like Santa!" exclaimed one small boy.

"SANTA?!?!" bellowed the old man, his face contorting into rage and several of the bundled up carolers let out surprised screams as the old man swung the poker within inches of their heads.

"I hate to break it to you lot like this, but you all were naughty this year!" he roared as he began to throw the coal none to gently at the carolers. Several of the littler carolers began to cry and their parents seized them as if the lumps of coal were made of fire and began to run down the snowy street. Moody continued to throw the lumps of coal after them with careful aim, chuckling dustily as he did so. After a few moments, the street was quiet and empty again. Just the way he liked it.

_ Hmpf. Santa indeed.  
_

Twas the season afterall. At least no one could accuse of him this year of not giving….

…giving a few bruises to a bunch of unsuspecting carolers at least.

* * *

_Author's note: This is totally going to be me in sixty years- And no, I'm really not kidding. :D_


	4. Firewhiskey

**_Firewhiskey_**

_James and Lily…_

It was all his fault. Entirely his. He was the one responsible for destroying the lives of his two, completely innocent best friends.

And he had destroyed Harry's life too. The boy was now an orphan, left to be raised by his Aunt and Uncle. What was Harry doing now on this frosty Christmas Eve?

_James and Lily…Harry…Mea culpa…_

Outside he could hear families celebrating the joy of being alive and being together, rejoicing still in the recent defeat of Voldemort. It was the first peaceful Christmas in years. And yet the price that had been paid for it…there had been so many lives destroyed- a man with jet black hair and his green eyed wife, two laughing red-haired men, a round faced woman and her beaming husband, a mousy haired young man with watery eyes-

He reached for the bottle of firewhiskey and ignoring, the dull burning in his throat- downed the rest of the bottle. He was the only one left in the pub, surrounded by empty chairs and empty tables…

A tawny owl fluttered in and the barman who had been cleaning up the place for the night, leaned over and took the newspaper tied to the birds leg. " 'Bought time already." He grumbled as he paid the bird and snapped the paper out to read it. Remus stared with blurred vision at the familiar face on the front page with the large, blaring headline above it-

"New evidence of Sirius Black and his ties with You-Know-Who"

He stared at the face for a moment. That familiar face with the cold, unreadable eyes…

…_all his fault…all my fault…mea culpa…_

They were singing Christmas songs outside...


	5. Victory

_**Victory**_

"I am James Potter! I am victorious!" roared the man. "With, reason, strength and knightly chivalry- I am invincible!"

"Well done James." said Lily, rolling her eyes. "You finally got the lights on the Christmas tree set up."

"It's no easy task!" He whined. "I didn't see you bending over backwards to help."

"Well I just finished the popcorn streamers." she said holding them out so he could see them better.

"Easier than Christmas lights. Especially these ones. You just had to pick out these muggle ones, didn't you?" James sighed as he picked up the box and read the back of it aloud. " 'New and improved! Colourful lights to light up your holiday tree! Over twenty five feet long!' That was the problem." he grumbled. "Trying to wrap them around the tree without them all getting tangled."

"Shall we see if they work then?" Lily asked sweetly as she stood up.

"No, no, no!" he said hurriedly. "I'm trying it. I set it up!" He threw the box into Lily's arms and climbed under the tree to crawl over to the switch he had expertly set up next to the wall.

"Ready?" he asked spitting some fallen pine needles out of his mouth.

"Ready."

James flicked the switch on and smiled as the lights above his head lit up. He made a movement to crawl back out from under the tree when suddenly; all the lights on the tree went off.

"What the-? No!" he roared crawling back under and flipping the switch again.

Nothing happened.

"They seem to be off James."

"Well spotted Lily." He snarled as he frantically checked the plug and the switch. He flipped the switch again.

The lights flew on again, only to turn off a few seconds later.

James let out a bellow of frustration and began examining the surrounding lights above his head to see if one of the bulbs was missing.

Lily sat back on the couch and helped herself to some extra popcorn and decided it would be much more entertaining to watch James struggle for a bit longer instead of telling him that the lights she had bought for their tree were the flashing kind.


	6. Heart

_Author's note: I know this story is a bit... gruesome. But if you think this is bad just go and read the review for the tales of"Beadle the Bard". And blame JK Rowing for writing it, she's the one responsible for the ideas that just keep flowing… _

* * *

_**Heart**_

…_love…_

"Please…please, it's Christmas- my family-"

"We don't care about your family right now, their next on our list of things to do." sneered the masked man. "Dolohov! Another taste of pain for our friend here."

…_.his desire never to reveal such "weakness"…_

The man lay thrashing about uncontrollably on the frosty ground, his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he writhed in agony, the wand inches above his head-

…_the young warlock then used the most powerful of Dark Arts to prevent himself from ever falling in love…_

"MERCY! MERCY!" sobbed the man.

"There is no mercy, here." laughed another masked man.

…"_I would trust your words if only I thought you had a heart"…_

"Let me go! Please! I'm innocent! My children! My wife-"

"She should've known better than to marry a dirty blood such as yourself."

"I'm half blood!"

…"_Put it back!"..._

"CRUCIO!"

The man screamed, his limbs trembling violently- he seemed to have bit his own tongue- blood was pouring from his mouth. He screamed again and the ring of masked Death Eaters laughed.

…_.grown strange from being disconnected from his body for so long, the blind and perverse heart took savage action…_

"He'll not last much longer." said a masked man next to him in a bored voice.

And indeed the man's struggles for escape had long since ceased to nothingness. Like a captured and wounded animal, he seemed to be waiting for the inevitable.

…_the warlock, who had sworn above all else to never be mastered by his own heart, seized the bloody dagger and cut the hairy heart from his own chest…._

The man looked desperately around the circle.

"Please…" he croaked. Somehow, his wild eyes fell upon cold, dark tunnels that seemed to hold no emotion whatsoever- "Please…"

Wild eyes stared into a pair of dark ones as the seconds lengthened-

There was a flash of green light.

…_.and there he stood, briefly victorious with a mad look on his face, a heart in each bloody hand before he collapsed…_

Severus Snape could only stare at the dead man before his feet with cold, unreadable eyes wondering in some long lost part of his shattered soul- that if he too had cut out his own heart or if it was still buried and hidden somewhere deep within him even after all these years…


	7. Patronus

_Author's note: I feel that the rest of these drabbles aren't quite as good in some respects. Writing has been crappy these days at best, but I'm determined to get them all up before the end of December..._

* * *

_**Patronus**_

The bearded man smiled to himself.

It wasn't exactly a cheerful smile. Many had seen him smile cheerfully before, a twinkle in his light blue eyes that seemed almost contagious, causing nearly everyone around him to smile back.

But this one was a bit sad, as he gazed upon the private memory.

"Come'on Albus!" said the boy. "If anyone can do it, you can! You're the best in our year!"

He watched his younger self shake his auburn coloured head. "I've already tried. I can't do it." Usually it was him teaching and helping others (even at such a young age) and so it was rather strange that he wasn't the one coaching someone else for once.

The other boy looked incredulous. "No? But what's holding you back then? Maybe you can't think of a good enough memory?"

Albus's bright blue eyes seemed momentarily dimmed. "Maybe." he said slowly.

Elphias Doge nodded his head furiously. "Yeah, that's it! You got to think of something strong! Something that's made you really happy or proud!"

And then in a soft voice, "But that's the problem, I can't seem to think of anything, Elphias."

A frown crossed Elphias's face. "Oh." He said slowly. "Well…hm."

There was an awkward silence in the empty classroom as the boys stood there thoughtfully.

"Well…" Elphias said slowly, and the younger Dumbledore turned his head to look at his friend. "If you can't think of anything that's made you happy in the past, then what about the future?"

"The future?"

An excited smile spread across Elphias's face as he leapt to his feet and raced over to where the elderly Dumbledore was now standing watching them both.

"Yes! Pretend that you're standing here, years from now- really famous and prestigious and imagine that you are going to watch yourself perform your first real patronus."

"Pretend my older self is standing there?" Albus asked, an incredulous smile spreading across his face.

"Yes!" Elphias laughed. "Why not?"

"What if I fail?"

"Then one day you'll have a ridiculous memory to look back on." Elphias laughed. "Come'on! Try it already! Imagine how happy and proud you'll be looking back on it."

The young, auburn haired boy stared hard at the spot where his elderly self was watching him. He looked thoughtful and after taking a deep breath, waved his wand-

"Expecto patronum!"

A silver white patronus shot from the end of the wand- a blinding animal flew up towards the ceiling and Elphias let out a whoop of excitement as the two boys watched the phoenix fly around the hall-

Albus Dumbledore watched his younger self beaming as his first real patronus started to fade, leaving the hall much dimmer than it had seemed before.

With a sad smile he turned and left the memory as he rose out of the pensieve and into his office. At his return, Fawkes let out a low, quavering note and Dumbledore walked over to gently stroke the bird's feathery head.

"Happy Christmas my friend."


	8. Photograph

_**Photograph**_

He had always liked the picture.

He couldn't remember where he had found it. Perhaps in the back by some of the boxes but he could tell it had been from a random magazine- torn out and slightly crinkled.

Nevertheless, he loved it. Unable to have decorations of his own and due to the lack of space he enjoyed taking it out for that time of year that seemed so special to everyone.

He could never understand why the photograph was so special, but he felt that it had something to do with what was in it. The large evergreen (much larger than the fake one in the living room) and the dazzling lights on it made him stare at it for hours, wishing with all his heart he could simply fall right into the picture for just a few short minutes.

And the people in the picture. That was what he felt made him like it the most.

By the large, decorated tree and in the middle of the falling snow were a mother and father both holding the hands of their tightly bundled baby, caught in mid-wave to the camera. They were all smiling.

It didn't matter that he didn't know who the family was or where the picture had been taken. He liked it because it made him feel warm inside. Even if he couldn't feel the warm glow as soon as he stepped out of the cupboard, Harry Potter loved the idea of Christmas.


	9. Quaffle

_**Quaffle**_

"That," said Fred. "Is an appallingly bad picture of us."

"Don't be ridiculous!" said Mrs. Weasley as she beamed down at the old photograph. "You were all so little back then, such sweet angels."

"Is she talking about us?" George asked, craning his neck to see the picture as well. "Impossible!"

But it was true. The entire Weasley family sat there for their traditional Christmas photograph- all very young and with very red hair.

Ron scowled as he watched his two year old self burst into tears as his ears got pulled on both sides by his older twin brothers. "Fred and George were being annoying. Typical gits."

"That's probably why your ears are so big now." Fred grinned and ducked a wild swing from Ron which caused their mother to give them both a sharp look.

"Bill's actually wearing his Weasley sweater!" said Ginny in surprise. "Wow, and look at Charlie…"

"-and Percy hadn't gotten his glasses yet." said Mrs. Weasley fondly, turning her attention back to the photograph. "He kept bumping into things all the time."

Percy who was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper, did not look amused as his twin brothers at this tidbit of information.

"It is mildly disturbing to see our prefect brother looking like a quaffle." Fred said gleefully.

"I did not look like a quaffle." said Percy hotly.

"Actually," said George, "we all look like quaffles in this picture. Fat, round little chums with red hair. I'm amazed we weren't stolen by a quidditch supplies shop."

"Ginny looks like a quaffle the most." Ron said, pointing at the fat blob with a tuft of red hair that may have very well once been his sister. It was hard to distinguish her from a quaffle at all, but the bright pink Weasley sweater and the many ribbons in her small amount of hair seemed to mark her as a human baby.

"At least my ears are normal size." Ginny retorted.

But Mrs. Weasley was ignoring all this as she put the picture up on the mantle place, beside the family's most recent Christmas picture.

"My little quaffles…"


	10. Kiss

_Author's note: I just read the new information of family trees on JK Rowling's website today and was struck by inspiration for this prompt. :D_

* * *

_** Kiss**_

"What did you do?"

"Nothing!" George said. "Just come here for a minute…"

Angelina Johnson crossed her arms looking suspicious. "You could just come over here."

George nearly swore under his breath. "Well, what's wrong with this cozy spot? Fine view here from the window and all…"

"Why do you want me to go over there?"

He tried to look innocent and failed drastically. "Look, Angelina-"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" the black girl asked in a threatening voice. "You and your ridiculous pranks and practical jokes! I'll go over there and suddenly find myself attacked by one of your wild holiday hexes, or attacked by hundreds of candy canes like that time in our third year!"

"That was an accident." He lied. It had been a clever scheme that he and Fred had planned with her in mind as the target but this didn't seem the best time to tell her that.

She let out an unconvinced laugh. "I'm not moving one inch until you tell me what you want."

"Fine!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "Fine then! I wanted you to come over here so I could kiss you!"

He hadn't meant for it to sound as bad as it did, but there was nothing he could do to take it back now. Angelina's dark eyes widened as she stared at him.

"You're…you're kidding, right?"

He walked over to her and gestured behind him to the ceiling. "Well I saw mistletoe hanging there and thought perhaps I ought to do it properly with it being the holidays and all but I can see I was wrong."

She still looked unconvinced and even slightly nervous as he stepped up to her. "You- you're lying. You have something else up your sleeve. That wasn't what you wanted me to-"

But she faltered as the she realized the space between them was very small now and George smiled as he put an arm around her waist.

"Dear Angelina, what will it take for me to convince you that it was just a kiss I had in mind?"

She stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes and George's smile grew more broad before he leaned forward and kissed her.

When they finally broke apart, he saw her eyes were twinkling. "So no mistletoe?" she asked breathlessly.

"Oh, now you want mistletoe?" he asked happily. He pulled his wand out of his back pocket and Angelina took a step back in horror. "Perhaps lots and lots of mistletoe to follow my fair lady around for the holiday season? That could easily be arranged-"

"Don't you dare!" she screamed but she was laughing.

"You asked for mistletoe dear Angelina and mistletoe is what you will get." He said with a wave of his wand. But Angelina had pulled her wand out too and quickly blocked the spell. Before he could send another spell back, she strode forward and to his surprise threw her arms around him and started kissing him.

George managed to keep balance as their lips parted and the kiss deepened.

_Forget bloody mistletoe, I love holiday snogging. _


	11. Phoenix

_**Phoenix**_

There is snow in her wild, windswept hair- as she unwinds her long scarf it becomes more noticeable that her cheeks are pink from the cold and she's slightly breathless as she's talking to you…You can barely pay attention because the delicate snowflakes caught in her tangled hair are too distracting…

He's wearing his traditional maroon jumper- the one he despises so much because it clashes so horribly with everything…You're talking away animatedly to him noticing how his hands are shoved in his pockets and how underneath the forced casual tone of voice he's nervous and concerned for his friend upstairs. You can't help but be touched by the uncharacteristic sensitivity…

They had spent so much time at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix this past summer, and before Harry came there were plenty of odd glances and embarrassing brushes in the dim hallways that led to awkward conversations. Things always seemed different between them when they were alone. They didn't argue as much, or use biting comments that would use to annoy the other in the company of others…

"-I'll go and talk to him then. This is ridiculous."

She heads over the staircase-

"I take it that trying to go down a hill with pieces of wood strapped to your legs didn't go that well?"

A joke. Always a joke with him.

"It's called skiing Ronald, and for your information, it was excellent. I love it."

He watches her walk upstairs, not seeing the smile she had managed to hide from him.

Perhaps he'd have to learn skiing then.


	12. All Was Well

_**All Was Well**_

"Hullo Mum." The young man said quietly as he sat down by his mother's bedside.

Alice Longbottom stared blankly at her son before leaning forward with a concerned look on her wasted face. Neville held his breath as she reached out with withered fingers and touched the side of his bruised face.

"I know it's been awhile." Neville said slowly. "I'm sorry. I've been at school and well…up until now, things haven't been so good."

She seemed awed by his black eye, gently tracing her fingers over its dark colour.

"There was a fight." said Neville. "Up at Hogwarts, and we won Mum- it's all over. You-Know-Who's finally gone."

But Alice Longbottom was still staring at Neville's bruised eye.

Neville swallowed nervously. "I think you and Dad would have been proud of me."

A heavy silence fell over them all. Neville took a few deep breaths to steady himself and then in a forced cheery voice started talking, "Oh, I almost forgot- I brought you both late Christmas presents. Sorry I missed it this year. Look, it's a new plant…"

He stayed in the hospital wing for a very long time talking animatedly to his two listless parents. When he had finally exhausted all topics of conversation he stood up reluctantly.

"Well Mum…Dad, I'll be back again soon." He said with a forced smile. "Perhaps I'll visit again on Sunday? Just to catch up with you both again?"

Suddenly Alice Longbottom leaned forward and gestured to her son to come over. The old routine coming back to Neville, he went up to her and put out his hand out for the customary Drooble's bubblegum wrapper.

It was there, but this time as Alice handed him the wrapper he received a soft, featherlight kiss from her dry cracked lips on his forehead.

He looked at her, startled, but she was absentmindedly patting Neville's hand as if nothing extraordinary had just happened.

Though he could not stop the large, genuine smile of pure happiness from spreading across his bruised face, he managed to keep his voice steady. "Thank you, Mum."

He walked to the door and with a final farewell wave headed out into the hospital's corridor before shutting the door behind him. He straightened up, his head held high and walked down the corridor still wearing a smile too big for his face.

All was well.


End file.
